Within Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Stoppard uses a play within a play to blur the line that defines reality, and in doing so creates confusion both onstage- with his characters, and offstage- with the audience. ... Death in Hamlet is given significance and value due to Elizabethan society's strong ties to religion. The uncertainty of the afterlife made the death mysterious, but also greatly feared. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, however, since life is seen as purposeless and directionless, death is seen as rather insignificant. The value of life after the Second Worl...

• Word Count: 1077
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Shakespearean authorship controversy has continued for over 300 years; yet with a multitude of scholars on both sides their respective research has not made clear the muddy waters of suspicious uncertainty. ... It was not until seven years after his death in 1616 that a huge memorial volume of the First Folio appeared, produced by several of Shakespeare's theatrical associates of all his plays. ... In contrast, Edward de Vere's death in 1604 would have bar him from being the author of several majestic tragedies believed written latter such as Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear; the...

• Word Count: 1431
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate